Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-07

sup enc court of the United States, ga
appropriation of land by the governmeI
| is nothing more nor less than setting
apart for some particular purpose, an
whenever tract of land shall have ono
been legally appropriated to any purpose
from that Eoment the land thus apprc
priated becomes severed from the mas
of public domain, and no subsequent Law
or proclamation, or sale would be consiC
cred to embr,ce it or TO operate upon il
although no other reservation were mad
of it,"
For the convenience of such persons
may feel sufficiently interested in tn
question to pursue its examina
ton into the books, and for those WI
may rave any doubts 10 be removed, l re
fer to d few of the legal authorities, to
wit:
State VS.. Delesdenier, Texas. 79
Wilcox VS.. Jackson, Is Pet; Todd vs.
Fisher and Miller, % Texas, pa; Marti
VS.. Spaulding, IL Wis, PIP; Leavenworth
ETC., r. Il. Co. VS.. United States, 90 U. S
733; NeWhall vs. Sanger, idem, 76l; K. 7
r. K. Co. vs.. A, 7. & S. I. R. r. Co.,
McCrary, 553.
1t is capable of the easiest demonstrs
ton that this appropriation of the land b.
the legislature to the public uses of the
government stands on q higher grount
than would grant OF it to an individual
for it is certainly true, as we every Ga.
see, that private property may be takei
and applied to the public use. That the
land Is public property in the sense tina
it belongs to the public, or the govern
ment representing the public, and is ap
piled to public use is not denied, but thi:
is true also of the capitol buildings a
Austin, and the capitol grounds, and The
public grounds generally; of the 26,C0O,
900 of acres of common school land, the
capital lands etc, etc; and the same ar
gument that would prove that, notwith
standing the reservation, Greer county
land can be located with certificates
would prove that any of the above descr p
tions OF land can be so located. Itwould
for instance, sustain the location
of certificate on the beautiful parB
fronting the lunatic asylum. One hall
of the land is reserved for the same pur-
pose for which the millions of acres VI
lands are reserved, that
is, for educational purposes. The same
legislature that reserved one-balf OF the
county for the purpose Of paying the pub
tic debt reserved also several millions Of
acres of other land for a similar purpose
and why not place the certificates upon
that? If the public-debt half OF Greer
county is subject to location then the
other reserved laad for public-debt pur-
poses is likewise subject to location,
But for some reason that has never been
COnterded the land in Greer county then
was completely reserved from location on
aud after February %, 1879. After that
day it was no longer pub ic domain.
The same legislature, at the same ses-
sion, which made this reservation passed
an act, the purpose of which was to grant
a certificate of GAO acres of land to the
engaged in the Texas revolution.
This act became law on July q, 1879,
five months after the reservation Of the
land in Greer county; five months after
the land had ceased to come within the
description of "public domain" The
holders Of these ''veteran certificates" as
they are called, were only author
lied to locate them on any
of the "public domsin," so that Of
course they were not authorized to To-
cate them IN .reer unity, for every foot
of land in that county had five months
before been applied by the government
to other purposes. To use somewhat
technic i phrase, III had been severed from
the public domain, and constituted no
part of it. According to my information,
no one ever claimed or attempted to eX
ercise the right to locate these certiti
Gates, granted by the act of 1879, in
Greer county. Indeed, so far from
the exlst,nce of the
light to locate item there, q
ong pull and a strong pull
md pull altogether was
made by their holders, spectators in
hem, and probably some of the veterans,
o induce the next legislature, which
in 1881, to allow such locations.
FMS that legislature refused TO do, but
he same session of 1t increased the
mount OF certificates from $40 acres to
$50 acres. This sct acquire d the force
nd effect OF law on the first day of
NY. 1881, or two and One-quarttr years
fllr the appropriation of the land 10
Ireer county To the education Of the
hildreu in Texas" In providing for the
ocetion OF these certificates it was
liyuIated that "they may be To-
ated as headlight certificates upon
ny of the public domain"
low the right TO locate them also being
United to public dCmaln," and as
5reer county land was not public do
main, there was, ID effect, prohibition
u the very act granting them against
DING there with them. And it may be
that headlight cert ticstes cOuld
ever at any time be placed upon land in
pite OF Its reservation. This last act
nat Of lSSl-in terms repealed all laws
q conflict with it, specifying, however,
o particu ar act except the previous
eteran at of 1879. But every man, law
er or not, knows that every later law
epPals every former law with
yhich it conflicts, whether it
so declared or not. Both
annot stand, and the last declaration of
he legislative will must, of course, pre-
all. 1t has been noticed that the first
eteran act, as well as the second,
rovided that the certificates should be
,cated on "public domain" but it has
cen seen THAI, instead of claiming that
ne certificates issued under the first act
Dulu Dt u
smpt was made to work through bill
them to bo located there. By
hat process of refined reasoning it was
,und that the language which in one act
nd which, according to it's
atural import, forbade such To-
atoms, became so wanton as
, grant it to another, is too hard for |
lie. There is one cther law that l will |
office, for an attempt has been made to
4rness it in for service in this business.
he same legislature that passed the
cond act that of 1881 granting the
.tsran certificates passed one also
rarting certificates to MANNED COnfed-
ate soldiers. These certificates it was
.ovided "shOuld be looted on any of
e public domain of Texas not reserved
, law from location 1t has been said
perhaps l should say argu d-thst this
81 in the act of providing that these GER
icates should not be located on reserved
M ,,rn--,da,j that the veteran GER